


careful joinery

by childoffantasy



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Boys In Love, Cuddling & Snuggling, Gentle Kissing, Homecoming, Intimacy, M/M, Making Out, Non-Sexual Intimacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:55:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28827024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/childoffantasy/pseuds/childoffantasy
Summary: The closest analogy he’d ever managed to come up with was Geralt’s soul fit right into the edges of his, like woodwork by a master joiner.Returned to Kaer Morhen from a long year on the Path, Eskel and Geralt come home to one another and reacquaint themselves.
Relationships: Eskel/Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia
Comments: 24
Kudos: 47





	careful joinery

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on my yearning hours again ok. Can't go out and kiss anyone cause pandemic so I gotta write about it instead.
> 
> I am informed that this is all appallingly soft and gay, which will come as exactly no surprise. Anyway Geralt and Eskel are two halves of one soul literally no matter what other ways they express their relationship, in this essay I will...

The first kiss at the beginning of the winter was always like coming home. Eskel could more or less make himself forget the way he missed Geralt during the summers on the path; as many years as they ran into one another, they usually hunted different regions, and even with overlap the continent was a large place, so they would miss one another at least as often. Being back at Kaer Morhen, though, it was a grim old ruin, but it was where the pack was and it was where the spare bits of his heart lived, those ones Eskel hadn’t quite managed to corral, and only ever managed to put on pause, not quite cut off entirely. And Geralt, Geralt who Eskel had never managed to corral into one of the handy words Common had for two people who were linked. The times when he couldn’t make himself stop thinking about what Geralt was to him, the closest analogy he’d ever managed to come up with was Geralt’s soul fit right into the edges of his, like woodwork by a master joiner, so perfectly matched that a shred of parchment couldn’t slide in between, and more useful by the connection. But that was mostly sentimental drivel that Eskel didn’t let himself indulge in too often, it was un-Witcherly.

However, when he’d hauled himself up the mountain, past the Killer, under the gates of the keep, into the last den the Wolves had to their name, Eskel was ready to let himself indulge a little, the years that Geralt was there. Not every year, life happened and Geralt certainly got himself involved in enough things to keep him away, but when he was there, Eskel always made sure to seek him out. Sure, he’d hit the formalities of greeting Vesemir and Lambert, pack was pack, but he didn’t unwind until Geralt those long arms around him, to hold him together. He didn’t clutch too long out in the courtyards or the hall, wherever they first found themselves, there were appearances to keep up but when Eskel got home he always needed to collapse for a nap first thing, the Killer took it out of him with his larger frame the way it didn’t for the other two. If he was the latter of them to come home, he would retire straight away, and most often wake up to Geralt sitting next to him, reading or mending. When Geralt arrived later, his first order of business was always to unpack and inventory his gear, which Eskel could help with, and would follow him up.

No matter the order, they found time for the two of them soon enough, and like the pull of gravity, the two of them would orbit one another, unable to stay away and drawing ever closer until they found themselves wrapped up in each others’ arms and they could sink in like they wanted to. And now, here Eskel stood, a long year of monsters and barter behind him, and Geralt in his arms, the smell of him familiar and safe, hitting all the points in Eskel’s hindbrain that said “comfort” and “family” that had been locked in place when he was still a pup in the dorms. 

When Geralt’s mouth found his, Eskel felt the last cold tight knot below his diaphragm melt away into nothing, and he curled towards him entirely on instinct. This was where he wanted to be, this was the true sign that he was home and safe and ready to rest. Geralt’s lips were chapped, the mountain air this high up and away from the coast was dry so that was a given, but Eskel had never had it any other way in this home, and he wouldn’t trade it for the world. His mouth yielded just the same under Eskel, moving slowly and unhurriedly.

Nothing was heated, not yet. The urgency would come sooner or later, when their bones unfroze under the onslaught of warm hearths, heavy meals, and curling in a pile with the rest of the pack, but homecoming was a different thing entirely, just comfort and reacquaintance. Eskel sank into the feeling of his mouth sliding over Geralt’s warm skin, catching and drawing away and returning as soon as one left, unable to stay away longer than a flicker. The feel of Geralt, being held and holding him in return, chased away the worst of the demons from the Path. Yes, Geralt wanted Eskel here with him, Eskel was still worth keeping and staying with in Geralt’s eyes, and remembering that meant Eskel could shake off much of the hard-heartedness he found from those who mattered not at all.

Eskel had closed his eyes, happy to kiss Geralt in the soft dark, but they flew open again when a tongue-tip eased its way over the scarring in Eskel’s lip. Most of the scar tended to numbness, but the part on his mouth was often oversensitive in a way that always caught the breath in his chest when his lover paid any attention to it. When Eskel returned his mouth to Geralt’s, lips still parted from his gasp, he felt the delighted grin in their kiss. Nothing for it but to get to work chasing that smug look of Geralt’s face, which Eskel set to with gusto.

He drew Geralt impossibly closer, only managing it because they were both out of their leathers into soft winter shirts and let just a little of the soft heat Geralt sparked in him spill out into the connection between them. Eskel kissed just a little deeper, a little more thoroughly, in hopes of persuading Geralt to melt just a little in turn, the way years of knowing him told him it would. True to form, Geralt hummed delightedly, and squirmed a little to settle their bodies more comfortably together so he could drape more of his weight on Eskel.

Eskel secretly adored the way his family would make use of his strength to physically support once in a while, when Lambert would demand a boost into a tree when hunting or Vesemir would hand him piles of things that needed carrying out of pantries or storerooms, but this was the best. Geralt hanging off of him in comfort and affection while Eskel told him in the best way he knew how important Geralt was to him was something Eskel forgot he needed until he had it again. So now he had Geralt tucked against him, humming happily, and Eskel was sure he could lift mountains like this.

Long minutes passed unremarked, the pair barely even separating to breathe, the only movement the flex of hands gripping shirts and the occasional shift of angle to better drink deep the taste of the other’s mouth. At some point Eskel noticed they were swaying gradually with the push and pull of their kiss, and tugged Geralt gently with him to move them towards the bed. The kiss never breaking, they shuffled almost like a dance, lilting steps working them across the room and still they stayed pressed together as close as possible, breathing the same air and unwilling to part long enough to look where they were going.

When his thigh hit the bedframe, Eskel let go of his grip on Geralt’s torso, with much reluctance. One thing had to be given up, and he certainly was not going to leave Geralt’s lips. An awkward shuffle or three later, prompting a huffed laugh from Geralt which fanned over Eskel’s face sweetly, and they managed to get themselves arranged on the bed. Eskel settled in on top of the furs, leaning on a couple pillows, and Geralt draped across his chest, weight entirely resting on Eskel, confident he could handle it. Eskel could more than handle it, he reveled in it, the undeniable pressure of another living person sharing your space. And still they had not separated longer than to breathe a moment.

With Geralt now lying on top of him, Eskel tangled their legs together and let his hands stroke up and down his back, checking him over to gauge the summer weight loss and reassure himself there were no badly healed injuries at first glance. Mostly it was an absent gesture, a refamiliarization as much as a reassurance, Eskel could check him over more carefully later, and it devolved rapidly into stroking the tangled hair at the back of Geralt’s neck. Geralt shuddered delicately in his arms, then went limp, purring for real now, and vibrating Eskel’s chest with it.

Time ran slow as molasses, Eskel lulled into something that wasn’t quite sleepiness, but was soft and hazy around the edges, with Geralt the only thing left in focus. The fire had burned low and warmed the room well by the time Eskel realized they were hardly even kissing anymore, so much as pressing their faces together to breathe one another in. He roused himself just enough to press a few lingering kisses across Geralt’s cheekbone. In response Geralt heaved one of those not-quite-a-yawn sighing breaths and moved to tuck his face into the curve of Eskel’s neck instead before going limp once again. No doubt he would be asleep in no time flat, so Eskel groped for a cover to drape over them both, and wriggled carefully to arrange them for sleep without disturbing Geralt. A snuffle and a sigh told him he’d succeeded, and wrapping his arms back around his lover he settled in for what he knew would be the best sleep in months. He was home now.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on tumblr at [childoffantasy](https://childoffantasy.tumblr.com)!


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